In Memory

Jerry E Frazier

The Measure of Success

by Allen Johnson

2 May 2010

Imagine a day in the life of Jerry Fraizer. If it were the weekend he might take one of his five children for a ride in the country on his Harley Davidson motorcycle. Later in the day, he would possibly work in his backyard: mowing, raking, weeding. Or he might take in a game featuring one of his athletic children.

If it were a weekday, you would have found Jerry working hard and with passion at Washington State Employment Security. He loved the idea of connecting the right person to the right job. Actually, it was more basic than that: Jerry liked helping, period. He wanted people to succeed—all people: family, friends, co-workers, and clients looking for work.

On December 22, 1968, Jerry married Judy Winkler. They had five children: one boy and four girls. Erica was the oldest, followed by their only son, Jason, followed by Shaunessy, Mega, and Kylee, all of whom graduated from Pasco high school. Not surprisingly, given Jerry’s affinity for athletics, all of his children enjoyed sports. Erica was into track; Jason loved basketball, Megan and Shaunessy were avid fast-pitch softball players, and Kylee was on the high school dance team.

I had a chance to interview Jason regarding his father. Jason is an articulate and well-mannered young man—not unlike his father—who works as a hazardous materials controller at Hanford. When I asked Jason to describe his father, he put it this way. “My father was engaging. He had influence on so many people.” Jason went on to say that it was not uncommon for Jerry’s co-workers and clients to stop Jason and speak glowingingly about how Jerry had made a difference in their lives. “He had a lasting imprint,” was the way Jason put it.

In 1998, Jerry discovered he had congenital heart disease. In 2000, he received a pacemaker, but he was never quite the same.

Despite his medical issues, Jerry was always a strong family man. He and his wife would do whatever was necessary to provide for their kids. Jerry always encouraged his children to go on to college—to be successful.

“Success” seemed to be a key word, as well as a key attribute in Jerry’s profile. If success is measured by the degree to which one leaves a legacy, Jerry was a true champion.

After returning from serving in the Navy, I ran into Jerry at CBC. I was walking across campus and recognized him right away. We started hanging out together and scoping out all of the "ladies". We also drove up to Bellingham several times to see Karl Palmer and experience the 4 year schoool environment. Over the summer, we had the great idea of getting jobs at Boeing. So we moved over there for a few weeks, living with John Stucky and a couple of other guys. We applied everywhere. One day we applied at Seattle Light, the major supplier of electricity to the Puget Sound area. We had to take a short "test" to qualify for the position. After the tests were gradedl, the employee called us both up the the desk. He informed Jerry that he had not "passed" the test, even though he had 3 years of college. But, I did pass the test. I told the guy that there must have been some mistake. He told me in no uncertain terms, that if I wanted the job I could have it. I told him to "shove it" and we both walked out. Racism is a terrible thing.

Many years later, I was thinking about Jerry and called CBC, since someone had told me he was working there via the "unemployment" agency. The guy told me that he had "Died about a year ago". I completely lost it and still feel the pain of his loss.